TFC captain Bradley won't let contract become a distraction

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — TFC superstar Sebastian Giovinco released a stink bomb on his way of town last week, but team captain Michael Bradley — who is essentially in the same contract position as The Atomic Ant was — vowed that there won’t be any foul odors emanate from his contract negotiations (or non-negotiations) with the team this season.

Like fellow TFC designated players Giovinco and Jozy Altidore, Bradley, 31, has one year left on his current deal. But the U.S. international said whatever happens contract-wise, will not be a distraction.

“There’s not been any real discussion so far,” Bradley said when asked if he and his representatives have talked about a new deal with TFC. “But I have felt that when the time is right (there will be) some real honest conversations and they’ll know exactly where I stand and exactly how I feel and I’ll want to know exactly where they stand and how they feel. I said to (team president) Bill Manning on one or two occasions, I said to (GM) Ali Curtis since he’s arrived — and (coach) Greg Vanney certainly knows this — I don’t ever want my situation to be a distraction, to be something that gets played out in a public way.

“The most important thing for me is the team. The most important thing for me is that we are able to go about our business every day the right way to create an environment where day in and day out we are working to improve, working to win and ultimately giving ourselves a chance to lift trophies. So as long as those things are there, then in the right time my situation will be resolved.

“I’ve had different (times) in my career where I’ve played contracts out until the end, that part doesn’t phase me,” the veteran midfielder added. “I love Toronto. I love the city, I love the club, I’ve spilled every ounce of blood, sweat and tears into the city and into the club over the last five years and I think things will work out in the right time. The most important thing for me is nothing gets in the way of what the team is doing every day.”

Bradley obviously believes he still has a lot left in the tank. He is one of the few veterans of the U.S. team that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup invited back to the national side and last month Bradley made CONCACAF’s Best XI for 2018.

BONO ADJUSTING

Goalkeeper Alex Bono refused to shake hands with a reporter on Friday morning.

He wasn’t be a jerk. The personable ’keeper had come down with a cold and didn’t want anyone else to catch it. But his illness certainly doesn’t reflect how ready he is for the 2019 season.

TFC’s No.1 goal keeper returned to his alma mater, Syracuse University, in the off-season to get ready for the 2019 campaign. With fellow TFC goalkeeper Clint Irwin joining the Colorado Rapids, Bono will likely carry even more of a load for the team this season.

“You can always keep getting better and no amount of experience or amount of games that you play deducts from that,” the Baldwinsville, N.Y., native said of his off-season workout routine. “The best goalkeepers in the world can always improve, whether it be on the mental side or the physical side, the reading-the-game side, everyone always has something that they can get better than that.

“You want it to be a constant chase for perfection, to be the best, and for me that doesn’t stop in the off-season,” Bono added. “That’s the time where I look (to get better). Some people might be on vacation or some people might be laying around, and I’m going to the gym. I’m trying to get to work and make sure I am improving or at least remaining level so that when I do come to pre-season there’s no adjustment period, there’s no getting-fit period. From day one you’re ready to go and you’re kind of ahead of the game.”

Bono said he will miss not having Irwin being around, even though they competed for the starting job.

“It will definitely be different. I value Clint very highly as a teammate, as a goalkeeper and I really enjoyed training and playing along side him. So obviously not having him here will be an adjustment,” the 24-year-old said. “But the same goals stand. As goalkeepers, we’re just trying to keep the ball out of the back of the net and no matter who’s playing that game day, whether it was myself last season or Clint, or whoever it may be this year, the goal still stays the same.”

Bono acknowledged that there may be more pressure on him without a backup of Irwin’s calibre on the roster.

“That’s part of the position,” he said. “For me it’s not only a role, it’s a mentality that you kind of have to take over. To be ‘The Guy’ is a lot. Sometimes it can weigh on your shoulders and that’s something that obviously you don’t want to think about too much, you don’t want it let it get into your psyche at all. But you do want to keep it in the back of your mind .”

WHAT GOES BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Newly signed TFC forward Terrence Boyd joked this week about the time he showed up Bradley, then his U.S. teammate, with a outstanding bicycle kick when Boyd’s Rapid Wien side played Bradley’s AS Roma squad in a friendly in 2012.

After scoring a magnificent goal on a rebound by getting up on his bicycle, Boyd jumped up and brushed past Bradley who was walking away. Fans and media jumped all over it.

“When I went to celebrate, I pushed him away,” said Boyd. “It was pretty funny.”

Bradley looked extremely peeved at the time, but Boyd said he and Bradley have laughed over the incident.

LITTLE SCRIMMAGE ACTION

TFC fielded a young squad in a scrimmage game against Orange County SC on Friday afternoon at UC Irvine. The scored ended 1-1 with Scarborough native Jordan Hamilton scoring for Toronto.

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